Which 30 People Will Attend Prince Philip's Funeral On April 17?
Apr. 12 2021, Published 3:21 p.m. ET
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Prince Philip's funeral will be much smaller than expected, with only 30 people, in addition to clergy members, being able to attend the service. So, who will get to go to the April 17 funeral?
Of course, Philip's wife, Queen Elizabeth, will be in attendance, in addition to their four children and their partners, which includes Prince Charles, wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Princess Anne and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
Philip's eight grandchildren — Prince Harry, Prince William, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Zara Tindall, James, Viscount Severn, Lady Louise Windsor and Peter Phillips — will also be there.
William's wife, Kate Middleton, will be at the funeral since she is very close with his family, whereas Harry's wife, Meghan Markle, is staying in California since she was advised not to travel, as she is pregnant with baby No. 2.
Beatrice's husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, may come, in addition to Zara's husband, Mike Tindall.
According to the Daily Express, Queen Elizabeth may want to invite her cousins and their spouses: Princess Alexandra, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess of Kent and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.
The outlet also reported that she has a close bond with her niece and nephew, the Earl of Snowdon and Lady Sarah Chatto, who are the children of Princess Margaret, and could want them there as well.
The only non-royal who may get an invite is Philip's close aide, Brigadier Archie Miller Bakewell, who was his right-hand man for 11 years.
“If you wanted to bring more like this gentleman [Brigadier Bakewell] who has worked in his personal office, you might think of bringing his page, his valet, his personal protection officer," Jeremy Vine noted about the list changing this week. “And at that point, you need to knock people out, so you might consider removing Edoardo, Princess Beatrice’s husband, or Jack Brooksbank, Eugenie’s husband.”
It looks like Philip's 10 great-grandchildren will not be on the guest list, either, royal expert Ingrid Seward told The Telegraph.
“I don’t think there’s any point in them being there, because they wouldn’t understand what was going on," she explained. “The Royal family are completely traditional, and even without the Covid restrictions, young children wouldn’t be there. The Queen only had children down to Christmas lunch when they had reached a certain age. He wouldn’t want young children racing up and down the aisle. [He thought] you can never go wrong if you follow convention.”
The funeral will be held at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle.
"The duke would have been delighted there won’t be able to be as much fuss because of Covid. He’d have thought, ‘That’s a coup,'" a senior royal aide said about the low-key event.
